Christmas Tree Not Explicitly Religious

December 20, 2001

The Dec. 16 letter, "Christmas tree has religious origins," said that the Christmas tree is a religious symbol based on an obscure legend of St. Boniface felling a pagan oak tree. While the oak tree part is fact, the story of the fir tree that sprouted up is pious legend.

The first records of a Christmas tree are from 1605 (Most stories say that Martin Luther orginated it, and not as a miracle). Regardless, it is in no way comparable to the menorah, which is an explicitly religious symbol (as the Supreme Court ruled in 1989). Even though it is associated with a religious holiday, the Christmas tree is a thoroughly secular symbol. The counterpart to a menorah is a Nativity scene. This is what should be displayed with the menorahs at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Louis J. Giovino

Assistant to the President Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights